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Lost ring returned to local man after 51 years
- Published Yesterday
By KOMO Staff
And the story became even stranger when it turned out that the ring's owner lost the ring 51 years ago - in 1957, when the Soviets launched the space age with Sputnik and Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House.
In that year, newlywed David Perry was water-skiing in Florida on a cool overcast day, wearing his gold Georgia Tech college class ring.
"Then the ring slipped off my finger into the water - you know - never to be seen again, or so I thought," says Perry, now 77 years old and retired from Boeing. "My heart went with it. What do you do - it's gone."
David Perry's missing ring is back on his finger.
Treasure hunters to seek "Unknown Shipwreck" this week off St. Lucie County
- Published 05/6/2008
By Gabriel Margasak (Contact)
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
They call it the “Unknown Shipwreck.”
"That’s a lot of mystery right there isn't it," said Capt. Doug Pope, a veteran treasure hunting and salvage expert.
Pope’s crew and vessel, the Polly-L, will be hunting off St. Lucie County this week for a ship believed to part of a 1715 Spanish fleet that sunk in a storm with holds full of treasure. Famed treasure hunter Taffi Fisher Abt, the daughter of the legendary fortune seeker Mel Fisher, chartered the latest search amid the fleet her family has been salvaging since 1963.
This will be the first hunt of the year for the Fisher organization, which runs Mel Fisher’s Treasures museum in Sebastian.
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» Read More500 Yr. Old Shipwreck May Hold Long Lost Buried Treasure Worth Millions
- Published 05/3/2008
Genuine antiques, as everyone knows, can be worth a small fortune. But what the crew that works for the Namdeb Diamond Corporation found goes beyond antiques - they believe they've discovered a virtual treasure chest of material that could potentially be worth millions. And it could go as far back as 500 years.
This modern story of the ancient past started last month, when the company - a joint venture of the Namibia government and diamond broker De Beers - went prospecting for precious gems off the coast of the African country. They stumbled upon a few gold ingots and went to have a closer look. 
Forget Indiana Jones: Meet Real Treasure Hunters
- Published 05/1/2008
Thousands of Americans Use Metal Detectors in Hopes of Finding Hidden Fortunes
May 1, 2008
Marc Sciance was out in a construction field under a sun-filled sky for four hours when he found part of his son's college fund in the muddy earth.
The father of two got a few hits on his metal detector that day just outside Fredericksburg, Va., and unearthed some Civil War relics — interesting to a newcomer, maybe, but nothing he hadn't seen before.
Then he got a signal that was "very deep."
More Photos
"I dug it and it turned out to be the first coin ever minted by the United States," Sciance, 44, said.
Prospector pans for gold and smiles
- Published 05/1/2008
ENLARGEThe little East Wenatchee resident stood on tiptoes swirling sand in a pan in a tub of water Saturday while Yesberger, a 53-year-old prospector from Port Townsend who looked like he could scare off a grizzly bear, showed James how to shake the muck in his pan just right to uncover the golden grains.
Yesberger, representing the Washington Prospectors Mining Association, was manning a gold panning demo station at the ninth annual North Central Washington Prospectors Gold Show held this weekend at the Chelan County Fairgrounds in Cashmere
Hunt leads to shocking discovery in N.J.
- Published 04/24/2008
News-Post Staff
Patrick Gregory put coordinates into his GPS not knowing where they would take him. In New Jersey, 200 miles later and a few hundred yards off the beaten path, Gregory found what he was looking for concealed in undergrowth. Gregory, of Frederick, was on a scavenger hunt and his treasure was a set of new shocks courtesy of 4 Wheel Drive & Sport Utility Magazine. "We knew the general location of the item, we just didn't know how to get there," said Gregory.
It wasn't shocks, though, that Gregory found in the New Village, N.J., park last weekend but a small metal plate etched with a number for him to call.
Dixie Relic Recovery Club preserves history from Civil War and other eras
- Published 04/22/2008
Rachel Brown
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The Dixie Relic Recovery Club preserves not only Civil War era relics but also keepsakes and historical artifacts from many other times.
The mission is to preserve history, members said, by getting permission from land owners to search construction and other sites for relics. Armed with metal detectors that range in price from $300 to $1,500, the club’s members search the grounds for hours.
Club president Lamar White said his “holy grail” find is a Confederate States of America cast brass belt buckle from a Confederate officer’s uniform. He declined to disclose the exact location, but said he found the relic on a dig in Ringgold about seven years ago. 
Charlie Harris holds a Confederate army buckle he found on one of his digs. The relic hunter has also written a book on various Civil War finds. (Catoosa News/Rachel Brown)
Club president Lamar White said his “holy grail” find is a Confederate States of America cast brass belt buckle from a Confederate officer’s uniform. He declined to disclose the exact location, but said he found the relic on a dig in Ringgold about seven years ago.
» Read MoreHistoric Civil War, Texas and Celebrity Western Artifacts up for Auction
- Published 04/15/2008
Gordon Lightfoot's silver and gold parade saddle, a knife and beaded sheath attributed to legendary Indian Chief Crazy Horse who fought at the Battle of the Little Big Horn , and an engraved Colt 1860 Army with Tiffany grips attributed to Texas Revolution hero Juan Seguin, are among some of the museum quality artifacts going up for auction on April 19 in Texas.
New Braunfels, TX (PRWEB) April 15, 2008 -- Gordon Lightfoot's silver and gold parade saddle, a knife and beaded sheath attributed to legendary Indian Chief Crazy Horse who fought at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, and an engraved Colt 1860 Army with Tiffany grips attributed to Texas Revolution hero Juan Seguin, are among some of the museum quality artifacts going up for auction on April 19.
Preserving memories
- Published 04/13/2008
Times Herald
In his spare time, Bob Grattan dives for memories. And sometimes, decked in scuba gear and wielding an underwater metal detector, he uncovers them.
When he surfaced from diving in Silver Lake near Ann Arbor last summer and got a closer look at the class ring he had unearthed, he noticed some things: a few clues that could lead him to the ring's owner -- but only a few. It was a gold band, marked "University of Maryland, 1951
Mainly a treasure hunter -- he brings in as much as $12,000 from his sunken booty every year -- Grattan considers it his duty to do his best to find the rightful owners of rings. At least when he gets the chance.
Sentimental: Bob Grattan hold several class rings he has found while using his metal detector. Grattan, who searches for gold with a metal detector, feels he can't sell the class rings because they belong to someone.
Most of the jewelry he finds is unmarked: plain wedding bands, pendants or bracelets. But when he finds a ring with a clue, he chases it
‘There’s lots of gold left in the hills’
- Published 04/11/2008
Prospectors gather in Kalispell on Saturday afternoon
Montana remains the treasure state to Clarence Taber and other members of the Northwest Montana Gold Prospectors Association.
“There’s lots of gold left in the hills,” Taber said with a smile. “I believe that absolutely.”
He and other club prospectors have nuggets and little vials to prove it.
But unlike many treasure hunters, they gladly share their knowledge, their placer claims and the fun they have panning, dredging or using metal detectors to find gold near Libby Creek
Gold prospector Clarence Taber holds up a gold nugget he excavated from Libby Creek. The Northwest Montana Gold Prospectors have a public gathering Saturday afternoon at the New Outlaw Inn in Kalispell. Garrett Cheen photo/Daily
Prospectors gather in Kalispell on Saturday afternoon
Montana remains the treasure state to Clarence Taber and other members of the Northwest Montana Gold Prospectors Association.» Read More